What Keeps You Up At Night According To Your 12th House?
In astrology, the 12th house is often shrouded in an air of mystery. Nicknamed “The House of the Subconscious,” it governs the areas of life that are hidden to us and what prompts us to do some deep a** introspection. It can also represent how we might self sabotage and where we are desperately in need of spiritual growth. The 12th house of our natal chart shows us HOW to understand the depths of the human experience.
But specifically, for this article I want to touch on something more specific that I think is the key to understanding a certain human expereince. And that is the state restless.
DISCLAIMER: I am NOT a medical or mental health professional. Astrology should NEVER be used to diagnosed or treat any sort of physical or psychological condition. I am a professional astrologer and my only job with this content is to educate students of astrology to gain intuitive clarity on themselves and their lives with the ancient wisdom offered by cosmos. Please consult a licensed medical or mental health professional for any concerns regarding the health of your body and mind.
Restlessness can appear in several forms, but one of the most common is disrupted sleep. This can include not being able to get sleep at night, awaken multiple times during the night, not being able to get back to sleep after a trip to the bathroom or to the kitchen to get a drink of water, or maybe even having nightmares.
Now, personally I have always struggled with sleep since the day I was brought home from the hospital after birth. Yes, many of us are naturally inclined to be more nighttime people and I for sure am one of them. But in my adult years after learning I had 2 natal chart placements in my 12th house of Libra, I was able to uncover some unconscious patterns that I previously wasn’t aware of that could explain my lifelong sleep struggles. These natal placements being my Moon sign and Jupiter sign.
I’m definitely A LOT more emotionally charged and feel more expansive during the nocturnal hours. I come up with my greatest and most successful creative ideas during this time. These strokes of creativity stem from being in tune with my most genuine of emotions, good and bad. In my waking life and when around other people these emotions; I subconsciously fear may not be the most socially appropriate thanks to the sign of Libra being it’s ruler (the sign of social graces). So with the world asleep and no one watching; all these pent up emotions feels safe to come out and play!
Another theme of Libra is harmony. I have noticed that when something (or multiple things) are out of balance, I can’t quite sleep it off. I can be up all night trying to think of solutions that can reestablish my sense of peace and make me feel balanced.
But anyway that’s just my experience with my personal 12th house. Everyone’s 12th house experience is different based on the zodiac sign that rules their 12th house and whether or not there are planets/asteroids there. Though not all of us may have chronic sleep struggles, anyone can be prone to some form of disrupted sleep at some point in their lifetime; especially during times of high stress. OR if you’re actually a great sleeper and your sense of restless manifests itself in other ways you can take “keeping kept up at night” in a rhetorical way.
Whatever the the case is for you persoanlly, in times like these where we are feeling unable to rest and restore ourselves, it can be helpful to look at the sign of your 12th house, as well as any planets or asteroids there to help you uncover some of the themes of your subconscious mind that may be bugging you at the time when you just want to get some shut eye. To find out what sign rules your 12th house you can use an online birth chart calculator on Astro Seek.
Table of Contents
Aries in the 12th House
You have a bold but hidden energy. You may be inclined to suppress your assertiveness, which can lead to subconscious frustration. It can be a balancing act to take action and find the time to reflect. It might be a struggle for you to embrace vulnerability as a sign of strength as opposed to weakness.
It’s crucial for you to take time to be with yourself and your own thoughts; for this is where you will find the strength you need to take the actions that will reap the most rewards. You tend to not notice how on the go you are, so making intentions to set aside a period of daily inaction would be beneficial to you.
Taurus in the 12th House
You may have a hidden craving for things feel comfortable, make you feel stable, or make you feel beautiful that you might refer to as a “guilty pleasure.” It’s not unusual for you to seek solace in sensory pleasures like food or shopping, or beauty treatments. On the extreme hand, you might engage in lower vibrational actives like substance use, bar hopping, or excessive clubbing to drown out unpleasant sensations. You are someone who is very sensitive to stimuli and sometimes it can feel overwhelming to shut out the noise. You may harbor a sense of materialism that you are not consciously aware of that might not be serving your well being.
Letting go of material attachments and finding ways to drown out the noise without using tangible things as a crutch is key to breaking out of unhealthy habits you want to let go of. Finding things that feed your soul and not your senses will take practice and dedication.
Gemini in the 12th House
You have a monkey mind or racing thoughts, but this is concealed to you. Your thoughts and emotions may be processed quietly. This can to lead to quite a bit of overthinking causing you to isolate in fear of feeling misunderstood by others. You are someone who tends to wear your heart on your sleeve and others in the past may have accused you of being “too much” or “too emotional.” This perhaps may have prompted you to hold yourself back in social situations, so you have a tendency to keep your thoughts and feelings to yourself.
Practicing being openly communicative is key to combating self-imposed mental isolation. It’s important to remember that not everyone is meant to be treated to your big heart and offerings of empathy. Also, learn to identify your “safe” people who don’t judge or shame you for your honest thoughts and embrace your unique displays of communication.
Cancer in the 12th House
You may seem like a popular, well connected person who isn’t capable of having a deep thought or authentic emotions but that just simply isn’t true. You indeed have a deep well of emotions but they are hidden. You also have a great deal of empathy and you’re highly intuitive. You underestimate your connectedness to the collective unconscious. Though you feel a lot and with much depth, emotional vulnerability may not be your strong suit since people may rely on you to be the person to keep things light hearted. People have always looked to you to crack a smile on their face and you don’t want to let them down if you’re really going through something and feeling some type of way.
Finding emotional security within yourself and others will help you embrace ALL of your emotions without fear of rejection. You have to remind yourself it’s not healthy to put on a happy face all the time. Give yourself room to release the heavier, not so great feelings. Also, allow your close ones to see your more vulnerable side as well, for they will feel much closer to you and feel like they know the real you and not just the happy go lucky you.
Leo in the 12th House
There may be a hidden need for recognition and creative expression. You might downplay your desire to be in the spotlight, yet secretly long to shine. You are one who is so used to helping others get ahead and succeed that you haven’t really stopped to think about how you can do that for yourself. Along the way, you may have developed this fear of being seen or being selfish.
You must learn to overcome your fears of being seen and allow your unique light to shine. When you do this, you give others the courage to shine as well. This is because your individual light shines so bright that it inspires the hidden illumination in others. You are helper by nature and you may not see this as being helpful but it is. Being an example is a form of helping, but not in a material, tangible way. You are helping someone’s soul; mirroring back to them what they are capable of by thinking to themselves, “if THEY can do that, so can I.”
Virgo in the 12th House
Your tendency for immense self-criticism and perfectionism is kept private and unspoken. You may feel it’s your responsibility to improve yourself and others to feel at ease in your own body and be at peace with your spirit. Striving for rightness and fixing minor imperfections can harbor an internal burden that can manifest outwardly as crippling anxiety and never feeling satisfied.
Learning to be compassionate with yourself and trusting that imperfection is part of the human experience will help you ease off the breaks of your racing mind. You must constantly practice releasing control of things you cannot fix and remember that some things are better off as just good enough.
Libra in the 12th House
You are someone who strives for balance and harmony. If you don’t have that, you may become very self effacing and get stuck into thinking how you can establish an equal give and take. You may also crave to be understood by others, but may feel as if no one understands you or wants to be near you. This can leading to overthinking past and present social situations that didn’t go well and may prompt you to socially isolate in fear of “being unlovable.” You can also struggle with making decisions for you see the pros and cons of most situations, which can lead to conflict avoidant behaviors and procrastination.
Affirming to yourself that inner harmony is most important for your well being and should take precedence over external situations that don’t call for your immediate attention. It’s also important that you don’t lose yourself in relationships for the sake of peace keeping and recognize when relations with another become toxic and no longer positively serve you. In relation to this, taking baby steps into mastering conflict resolution can be helpful for you as well; by practicing how to distinguish pure aggression from directive assertiveness.
Scorpio in the 12th House
Intense emotions and hidden power dynamics may have a habit of eating you up inside. You may have a profound spiritual depth and a strong connection to the mysteries of life and questions that can’t seem to be answered. It’s also possible you may feel a sense of shame expressing emotions that can be seen as negative or intense. You’re a real positive person by nature and don’t wish for others to perceive you as a Debbie Downer who always sees the glass half empty.
You must transmute your hidden fears of darkness and intensity by embracing the idea that the light and the dark have to coexist together for your highest ideals to become a reality. Too much of a good or bad thing takes away the opportunity to learn from one another and teach others. The natural teacher in you is calling upon you to embrace the good with the bad and it is only then you learn this for yourself; that you will be the shining example of enlightenment that you’re always striving to be for yourself.
Sagittarius in the 12th House
You may have a closeted feeling of wanderlust and secretly want to travel far and wide; for you have a hidden desire to embark on a quest for meaning in your life. You may not live with much excitement or fun in your life; for you are a very dutiful person with a respect for authority and tradition. This can bring a sense of restriction and a perceived lack of freedom. But every once in awhile, you can’t help but feel like there is more out there to be discovered and there is something you haven’t learned yet.
Its important to remember that journeys don’t always have to mean trekking the mountains or flying overseas to learn a new language. A journey whether it be physical, emotional or mental, are all quests for knowledge but are done in different ways. Attaining freedom looks different for everyone so you must learn for yourself what freedom means to you personally, because where one feels restricted another may feel liberated.
Capricorn in the 12th House
With a hidden sense of responsibility on your shoulders you may feel internally restricted with rock solid self discipline. You may feel pressured to achieve goals and gain recognition for your achievements, that you’re vulnerable to conjuring up imaginary pressure from others to succeed in what you set out to do. With a unique and rather non-conventional from of self expression, you may feel as if it’s up to you to be the innovator and bring the change people want to see in the world. You are not only a team player, but also a team leader. People look up to you as a role model to be the voice of advocacy for them and challenge social constructs and ideas on their behalf.
The key here to unloading yourself from this heavy soul burden, is to let go of the tight reign you hold on the outcomes of your dreams and ideals and accepting that your efforts to bring change is enough and is more than many people do in their lifetime. You also must learn to not be afraid of letting others who look to you as their spokesperson down and that you’re not to be put on a pedestal. You are human and not God and you should not surrender yourself to martyrdom to fix all the world’s problems.
Aquarius in the 12th House
There may be a secret desire for you to produce a life altering innovation and live up to humanitarian ideals. It’s possible you may feel cut off and disconnected from others most of the time, but simultaneously have an innate, deep understanding of universal truths. You hold the power to answer many of life’s greatest questions, but may keep quiet out of fear of rejection or “looking insane.”
The key here is balancing your sense of individuality with the collective thoughts and energy. Embracing your unique role to play in bettering the world will give you a clearer understanding in gauging who to speak your truths to and find your tribe.
Pisces in the 12th House
With this being the natural sign ruling the 12th house, you likely have an unrecognized natural affinity for the metaphysical. Highly aware of the unconscious feelings and thoughts of the people you’re surrounded by, you are an emotional sponge that easily takes on the unexpressed emotions of the people in your vicinity. This can lead to a struggle with boundaries and your compassionate nature being taken for granted and abused.
It’s crucial for you to ground yourself in the practical aspects of your life so that you’re not easily led toward harmful tendencies of escapism caused from imagined scenarios and being drained of your compassionate nature. Also, don’t underestimate the importance of your spiritual well being. When our soul is fulfilled and at ease, it manifests itself outwardly as a result.